5.2 Auxiliary Dwelling Units - Mark Jurchen

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Practical Solutions for ADUs Local laws can both allow and appropriately control the creation of accessory dwellings There are more than 19,000 cities, 16,000 towns and Well-intentioned but burdensome rules can stymie 3,000 counties in the United States.ADU regulations the creation of ADUs.ADU-related zoning codes are typically adopted at the local level,although several should be restrictive enough to prevent undesirable state legislatures have required cities to allow them. development but flexible enough that ADUs get built. Where it's legal to build ADUs,homeowners still need When a community is worried about a potentially to follow rules about where it can be done, how many undesirable outcome, it can—and many do—craft square feet they can contain,how they can be used. regulations to prevent particular building types, These rules can be found in the local zoning code. locations or uses.A city concerned about the There is a balance to strike between prudent ADU environmental impact of new structures might prohibit placing detached ADUs in precarious laws and encouraging their construction. For instance, locations,such as on steeply sloping lots.Communities after Portland,Oregon,relaxed its ADU rules in 2010 wary of ADUs becoming,for instance,off-campus and waived impact fees (a savings of up to$12,000), student housing can establish occupancy rules. the number of ADUs built rose from about 30 per year between 2000 and 2009 to nearly one a day in 2015. Every community has its own priorities and concerns, and there's Changes in California's ADU rules saw Los Angeles go that communties can write appropriate ADU r� ols les from 80 applications in 2016 to nearly 2,000 in 2017. Allowing Sonoma County homeowners to add both an This inherent flexibility in the form and function of ADU and a JADU (see the green box below) were ADUs allows them to pass political muster and get among the policies adopted in the wake of the area's adopted in a wide range of places. (See page 16 for many devastating fires. more about uses and rules.) is Rules that discourage ADUs Are ADUs allowed? • ADU-specific regulations that don't also apply Find out by calling your town,city or county to primary dwellings (e.g.,owner-occupancy office in charge of land use and permits—or requirements) stop by in person.You can also search for and read the zoning code through the local • complex design compatibility criteria and government's website. approval steps o n • off-street parking requirements beyond those • If ADUs are allowed,ask what conditions, required for the primary dwelling permit needs and impact fees apply. • restrictions that limit ADUs to certain areas, • If ADUs are not allowed and you want them to particular zoning categories or to large lots be,ask an elected official or your community's • caps on square footage relative to the primary department of zoning and planning how the house that make it easy to add an ADU to a codes can be updated. 0 large home but hard or impossible to add one • Then get organized and start advocating! to a small home z 0 0 JUNIOR ACCESSORY DWELLING UNITS(or JADUs) are smaller than 500 square feet and have a separate entrance but are created within the existing dwelling.A JADU can share a bathroom with the main house z and contain a basic kitchen equipped with small plug-in appliances. 14 AARP I The ABCs of ADUs